Prompts
by SabastianScott
Summary: Actually, this is more accurately labeled 'Drabbles' but how many of those do you see on here? A lot. Basically the entirety of some of my favorite stories for Ghost Hunt that I never got to write. Always incomplete.
1. Chapter 1

**I AM SO SORRY I AM TAKIN G SO LONG ON UPDATES. Lots of stuff has been happening… So while I have been working on what I can, when I can, I decided to upload this-**

**Prompts.**

**Well, that's the title, but really, it's more like little blurbs I made. This is actually one of the oldest ones I had for Ghost Hunt. Blind is about as old as this thing. If I didn't upload that, this is what I would be writing. **

**(I'll post more, er, blurbs later on. I'm not sure if I'll make these adoptable. *shrugs* I'd put in original ones too, but that's a whole different procedure, plus this is fanfiction, not fictionpress {on which I'm considering making an account on…})**

**This one is titled, "Are all orphaned kids smart?" It was actually longer, and it included Mai and Monk playing violin with Mai's old music teacher in said teacher's new school. **

Are all orphaned kids smart? That's a question I've heard many, many times. Truth is, I'm not sure. I hear about all these kids being so smart, and apparently they're all orphans.

Not. Geez, guys, seriously? Not every prodigy is an orphan, I guess it's because we are 'oh so tragic!' that the geniuses who ARE orphans stand out than those who weren't. Which is stupid. However, society likes to think that, just because your past is tragic, well then, you're automatically talented in something, and that all we want in life is a family, and to pursue whatever this 'talent' thing has to offer.

And so, with this stereotype, all of us 'Little Orphan Annie's are expected to have some sort of talent.

Naturally, when I finally DO get adopted, it's by a woman who believes in this stereotype very, very much. And she just HAD to be rich enough that she could afford all the tutors I needed until I BECAME a prodigy, like it or not. And so, I became one. Graduated college multiple times while the other kids were working on graduating high school once. Had many things under my resume while the other kids weren't even sure how to fill out a resume. However, as talented as I may –forcibly- be, I still was a bit of an airhead on the things around me and about subjects I didn't know about. I had a temper and I tried to conceal it, but it doesn't work well usually (or always). I could pronounce and write and understand other languages well enough, but that doesn't mean I liked it. I sometimes jumbled up different languages, I sometimes tripped when I danced. I sometimes missed a note or got off beat while playing an instrument. I was relatively normal. Just a normal adopted teen who's adopted mother had overly huge expectations-and ways to make these expectations come true, fair or not.

And I dealt with it, every day. Working hard, not even thinking of my happiness, just expectations-how to achieve them, what would be a step higher, what would be a step lower, just for her. A woman, who simply liked attention, but never gave it. I grew up relatively alone, hardly ever even seeing the woman who decided "Hey, you're now my daughter!" for me.

And for me, that was perfectly fine. I enjoyed that I was alone to do things the way I liked. Learning music? I danced. Learning math? I learned how to do origami. Learning about life? Well, that's one lesson I never got. I guess you could say I'm incredibly sheltered. Probably because I was adopted. Heck, people didn't know I was a prodigy, didn't even know I existed other than 'Ritsuke Rin's adopted child' constantly tacked to my forehead. I knew cultures and all sorts of languages, but I never traveled. Ever, I was always on this estate, with a large house, large gardens, a lake, woods, heck even a few farm animals lived on this property, it was HUGE. However, the world will always be bigger.

That's what I wanted, to see the world. The big, slightly scary, slightly unexplainable world. If only I knew how the heck to get off this property. I can't even see the end of the driveway from a tower twenty stories up. By the time I got to the end of what I COULD see, it would be noticed that I was gone, and so, I would never be able to find the end of driveway. The end of my world, the start of another. That's where I want to go, to start my journey.

Naturally, I probably would never get there. Not as long as the guards are around. Am I really that much of a hidden treasure? A hidden jewel, surrounded by guards? Will that be all I ever am? Or will some rich guy come by, and whisk me away for a fine price? That possibility is very real, so very real that I fear it. So, so much do I fear it.

It scares me, when that day may come.


	2. Chapter 2

**This sucks. Bad. **

**I made it forever ago. Seriously, take it, I don't want it. I was basing it off the play I was assistant stage manager for last year called **_**Gruesome Playground Injuries**_**. **

**I didn't even name this thing. Sorry and yet not sorry. The whole point was: Make Naru jealous, Gene be a narcissist, and have Naru replace Gene last minute. And… the drama of fangirls and drama practices… that's it, really.**

"Hey, Naru," I said as I walked into the office. I was, in fact, on time. I had been so nervous about our drama auditions that I didn't even want to stick around after school.

See, about a week ago, Michiru and Keiko dragged me off to this audition and made me audition with them. I seriously didn't want to do it. Acting just wasn't a big interest point of mine, and they both knew that. They just ignored me. Why they wanted to audition in the first place was because this guy, Saito, he was auditioning too, and all the girls wanted to be his scene partner. Especially for the kissing scene. So I, being the supporting friend, got dragged along too.

Which is why I sincerely hope I'm not on the cast list, because if you're cast into the role, well, you HAD to take it, no exceptions. And you could get expelled for not coming to practice. No understudies either, we were to be in tip-top shape. It sucked.

"Mai, why is your school sending me mail?" Naru said from where he stood behind one of the chairs in the lobby.

"Oh, I'm not sure. You're listed as my work contact, so nothing should be coming here unless I've been gone for a long time and they want to make sure I get a few lectures about attendance," I shrugged. I seriously didn't know. I put my bag into the small closet for random things like that.

Naru in the meantime had sat down and started opening the manila folder. I sat on the arm of the sofa nearest to his chair so I could glimpse at the papers inside.

"Is this a schedule?" Naru said, looking at the top paper. I was instantly right behind his chair, looking at everything. I had gotten a part.

I had gotten a part.

I didn't want a part, but I couldn't back out of it.

Worse yet, Saito was on the list. He had the kissing scene, naturally.

The absolute worse part? I was his scene partner.

**notnamed**

I had, apparently, fainted shortly after that. I woke up on one of the sofas in the office. I wasn't sure how I got there, but Naru sat there, looking like he was reading through the schedule.

"So you're awake," Naru said calmly, not even looking up.

"How long was I out?" I asked, not even sitting up, just laid there.

"Just a few minutes. What has you surprised enough on this that it made you faint," Naru asked, looking towards me and arching an eyebrow.

"Just… got a part. I didn't even want to audition. I'm so going to get Keiko and Michiru for this, they made me audition with them. Worse yet, I can't back out," I groaned, throwing an arm over my eyes.

"It's not that bad, Mai. It's just some lines," Naru said, giving me a 'are you seriously THAT worked up over this?' look despite his comforting words. Wow, Naru comforting. That was new.

"Yeah, that's not what I'm worried about…" I groaned, looking at him by slightly moving my head to the side and look over the bend of my arm. Naru just looked at me, indicating for me to continue. I sighed and sat up. "Okay, it's my new scene partner," I explained.

"Your scene partner?" Naru questioned.

"He's the school's heartthrob, essentially. Just the fact I'm sharing a scene with him could cause serious damage on my part," I explained. High school girls could be dangerous.

"Right, and you're not effected?" Naru questioned, giving me another 'are you serious' face.

"You could say I'm desensitized to this sort of thing, and not just because of you, Narcissist," I brushed it off. It wasn't like I was really thinking about that sort of thing right now.

"Desensitized?"

"Well… It's a long story, and I don't feel like going through it right now. Let's just leave it at 'it has to deal with my old school', okay?" I said, suddenly feeling a bit tired. I pushed myself up and went over to my desk, grabbing the script that had at some time been taken out of the envelope and put on the coffee table and put it on my desk.

"Mai," Naru said. I couldn't see him right now.

"Now look, I've never actually seen Saito, ever, he's in a different class than me, so not only do I have to memorize lines with a total stranger, I'll have to pretend I have actual feelings towards him. Excuse me, _act _like I have any sort of feelings for him. So your tea will just have to wait a second while I process this," I said, my tension obvious. Naru simply turned heel and left for his office, I guessed so I could think a bit.

Then I got up and made tea.

**notnamed**

"So let me get this straight, _you_ get to kiss Saito?" Kimichi, a popular girl in my grade, said as we met during drama practice. Well, if there's one thing this girl is good at, it is making lots of drama over nothing. She had a different scene, the eight-year-old scene, so we both were stuck at practices together.

"I'd gladly give it to you if I could, but alas, I _can't_, so… sorry," I said, distracted by looking over my script again.

"Hey, Kimichi," a familiar voice said from behind me. I turned around as fast as I could, I could swear that it was…

"Oh, Saito, hi! I just have to get going now, see ya!" Kimichi said, flipping her hair over her shoulder before rushing off to who-knows-where.

I, on the other hand, was busy looking at the guy that was practically a spitting image of Naru.

"Hello, I'm Saito Kunicho, who are you?" the Naru-look-alike said, smiling.

"Um… I'm Mai Taniyama, your scene partner," I said cautiously. If this guy was anything like Naru I had a right to be apprehensive.

"Oh, right! So, did you come to auditions like many of my fangirls and got in?" Saito said. Yep, he knows he's good-looking. That was never good.

"Actually my friends forced me here. I have no idea how I got in, I honestly didn't care for this," I explained, glaring a bit.

"Ah, so I'm guessing the thought of us kissing isn't too fond of an idea," he smirked. He was messing with me. Figures.

"Not especially, no," I said bluntly. Saito looked at me, sort of stunned. "What, did you ever think you'd find someone immune to your charms? Try meeting my boss sometime."

"…Your boss?"

"Yeah, I work for…. A narcissist. I do office work and filing. And make tea," I said. I loved my job, but my fellow students weren't as fond of the thought of ghosts as I and my friends were.

"Okay…" Saito responded, drawing out the o.

This was going to be a long drama season.


	3. Chapter 3

**Scott speaking here.**

**I thought about how Gene would act like, and by going off the fact that Mai is apparently 'Like Gene, only Gene was quieter' and the fact he looks just like Naru, I decided it would be along the lines of Naru and Mai's drunken love-child which caused them to confess their love while raising said kid or **_**kids**_**. (cough cough has read about three different fanfics with this plot in one day cough. Not that it was a bad thing)**

**And thus, I made this. The beginning was based off a fanfic that, once again, was never completed. But I loved the idea and decided, hey, why not? SO if the original writer of that idea sees this, you totally inspired the beginning that I would have otherwise not been able to find and thus not been able to start this fanfic. I do not mean to steal your idea. Imitation is, after all, the greatest form of flattery. Not plagiarism though. That shit is not cool by any means.**

**I don't own Ghost Hunt.**

….

I was lying in bed, thinking over all the things that had happened.

For one, Naru aka Kazuya Shibuya is actually Oliver Davis. And all things considered, his name sounds really fake now. How had I not spotted _that?_

Next, Naru has a twin brother, Gene. And said twin brother is dead, and he is looking for the body. Which is supposedly in this lake. Which he recognized from his psychometric vision of Gene's death.

Then, we happened to take one last case. And somehow, I ended up being the one who cleansed the place with Gene's (even though I didn't know it was him) help. No one really knows this though, they think it may have been natural, or that some other force must of done it.

And to top it all off, not only is Naru and Lin leaving and closing SPR, he also rejected me when I confessed. Which, I will admit, was a very Naru-ish rejection. And truthfully, he may be right. Him or Gene. Honestly I just wish that I could have saved Gene. He definitely didn't deserve dying.

I fell asleep with these thoughts on my mind.

**line**

Somehow I ended up at the road. It was dark, really dark, and I wondered why I was here. I looked around until I saw it-the boy.

He looked just like Naru, but he wasn't Naru. He just… wasn't. I remembered Naru telling me earlier how he had died. _Is this… Gene's death? It would make sense, we are looking for his body…_

Gene then looked both ways before crossing the road. I had a sickening feeling in my stomach.

_No no no!_

I could see the headlights coming fast. I did the first thing I could think of-which was to push Gene out of the way.

I knew that it wouldn't have any affect, but I didn't care-even if it was only a vision, I couldn't just stand there!

But then something strange happened. I felt as if I had water poured all over me, or filling me, or something weird like that, and yet, I stayed dry. I felt something warm under me, and could feel shrubs scratch my legs. I opened my eyes-not even realizing I had closed them-and looked to see myself on top of Gene, in the shrubs, _safe,_ and the car from before to be long gone.

"Uh…" I said smartly.

"Hello…?" Gene said, his eyes sort of owlish. I blushed as I realized I was still on him, and jumped back almost immediately.

"Oh I'm sorry!" I said sheepishly. He sat up and chuckled. I blushed again. _Will he find me as funny as Naru apparently does?_

"Don't be sorry- you just saved my life. I'm Eugene, but call me Gene, okay?" he said, smiling as he got up and walked over to where I still sat on the ground.

"Ah, right… Hi, Gene. I'm Mai Taniyama…" I said as he extended a hand forward to help me up. I grabbed it hesitantly and soon we were both standing up and looking around. "Uh, Gene? Why are you wearing all black?"

"I like the color black. It makes me look like a ninja! Since I live in England I usually don't get to really connect with my roots," he explained happily.

Oh. That sort of makes sense… in its own weird way. Suddenly I remembered all of the cases we solved in SPR.

"Uh, Gene, what year is it?" I said nervously.

"What do you mean? It's-" he was interrupted by a loud wind knocking branches around, but I heard well enough. It was two years prior from the time I had lived in ten minutes ago. I started to run a hand through my hair before realizing my hair was _really _long, like I had it right before I had to get it cut for various reasons.

This meant all those cases… how would they be solved? And what about Saikouchi, shouldn't he be alive then?

"Um, Gene, would you believe me if I said I came from two years in the future? And that you were supposed to die just now and that your brother came to Japan with Lin and started a branch of SPR as a cover to search for your body and that now I have to go solve some cases because otherwise people might die?" I said, still in a bit of shock.

"Uh, Mai, are you okay? Did you hit your head or something?" Gene asked, his face becoming worried.

"I didn't hit my head, Gene. I… You _died._ And then, with all the cases…. Ah man!" I said. "First I should find Saikouchi, make sure he stays alive too. And then Kansai…! And the old schoolhouse, it will collapse… and then the dollhouse-oh CRAP, Urado… And the demi-god… CRAP, how I am going to do this," I said, and then started pacing.

"Calm down Mai, it's okay. Seriously, we should get your head checked," Gene said as he made sure I stayed away from the road, obviously still a bit nervous from the incident from before.

"Gene, I need to… find my way back to Tokyo. After I solve the case with kids at the school here..." I stated firmly.

"How did you know about that? Wait, how'd you even know I had a brother? Or about Lin?" Gene said, pulling off a very Naru-esk face.

"I already told you-I actually came from two years in the future. And I apparently went back to the body I had before… Great… I get to relive two years of puberty," I said.

"Right. For now we'll just get back to the village-they asked me earlier to go check out the old school. We'll have you rest a bit in the case you _did_ hit your head," Gene said, taking my hand in his before we crossed the road again-and safely this time-before walking the short walk to the village.

**line**

"So this is the school, right?" I asked Gene the next day. Gene let me stay in the cabin he rented for the night and I had borrowed a change of clothes from one of the village girls and had put my clothes I had on before-which was bright shorts and a mis-matched tee-shirt-in a knapsack that the girl had also given me.

"Yeah, this is it. Say, you claim that you exorcised the place before, well technically in the future, so what's the situation?" he said. He still didn't believe my claim, but was willing to keep an open mind, which didn't surprise me, him being a medium and all.

"Well, for one, the villagers didn't tell us the whole story. To put it simply, at least one person would disappear around here every few months or something like that. The children are lonely, and the haunting itself was caused by kids who, while on a field trip, were buried alive by a landslide in a bus. They all turned into gaki. The teacher caused all the trouble to keep the kids happy. As for the cleansing I had to astral-project and keep happy and positive thoughts to make my soul lighter, as you yourself instructed me, and talk them into making another 'field trip' to the other side. Is that detailed enough for you or do I have to explain how all of the team got kidnapped and replaced by ghosts?" I said as we observed the building.

"No no, that's good. You said I instructed you?" Gene said. He was supposed to solve the case himself as well.

"Yeah, apparently you became my spirit guide, but I only ever got in contact with you during a case. Because of that I just assumed you were your brother's spirit or nice side or something," I said with a shrug.

"I'm not convinced my brother HAS a nice side… A spirit guide huh? Guess that explains part of what happens to psychics after death," Gene said, holding his chin and yet again reminding me of his and Naru's resemblance.

"What do you mean by 'what happens to psychics after death'?" I asked curiously.

"Well, you don't often come across a ghost of a psychic, do you? Theories say that psychics are either reincarnated like some others are; only they aren't allowed to linger at all, or they have some other role for them after death, or, due to their already obvious connection to the spirit world, are considered already in-between to an extent so when they die they just cross over completely instead of lingering. Understand?" Gene explained.

"Ah, yes. I suppose so. I guess that supports the 'role after death' theory? Anyway, do we approach the situation the same way as before? I mean, I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to astral project myself due to the fact that I only started doing that a year and a half after getting into the ghost hunting business…" I said.

"I'm not sure. Let's go in," Gene said, gesturing towards the building. I frowned.

"No equipment? I got locked in there for about a day-I was only able to leave after the cleansing, and didn't your brother always monitor a building first before going in…?" I said, looking at Gene questionably.

"No equipment, this should be done quickly, since you seem to already know this case…" Gene said, uncomfortable still. I don't blame him-I'd react the same to someone saying they were from two years in the future and that I had died in said future. At least he was taking it in stride.

"Right, just avoid the second floor. It's…just not a good idea to go. Besides, we won't need to for the case so…" I said as we started walking forward.

"Right, just the first floor," Gene said, ensuring me that he had at least listened.

We entered the school, both of us cautious. As soon as we were a few feet away from the door that we had left open, it slammed shut. We both turned around. Gene, having not already lived through this, went to the doors and tried to pull them open. Then he threw a chair at the door when it wouldn't open.

"It won't open; neither will any of the windows. And no matter what you throw, they won't budge," I said calmly. I sort of felt like Naru as I said this. How he seems to already know everything there is to know about what was going on at that moment. _Maybe that's Naru's secret to staying calm-he just evaluates moment by moment, taking away what's not needed and keeping all that is needed, evaluating facts with his vast knowledge. Hey I feel like a scholar now! Or maybe he's just from the future. _

…_It's concerning how both of those theories seem to be quite possible…_

"Well, that's bloody wonderful. Which room is the base for the haunting?" Gene asked me, running his hand through his hair as he turned and walked towards me.

"This way," I said as I lead him down the hall towards the haunted classroom. "Any ideas on the cleansing yet?"

"We're going to do it like you said, only this time we're both going in, and we won't astral project. I'm not all that well versed in it as I have yet to have a situation where it was required, and you haven't officially done it this far in the past," Gene responded, his tone and his stride confident and sure.

_Yep, he's definitely Naru's twin…_

**line**

An hour later we were done. We basically did the same thing I did before, only this time we were both alive and both in our respective bodies.

"That was… quick," I said as we left the building.

"I have to say, you might actually be telling the truth on all of these cases… We should try solving them before they become a big issue," Gene suggested.

"Think so? If we do… I'd have to start with Saikouchi. He killed himself because his dream was to be a ghost hunter, but his school is super strict. Considering the timeline given so far we have about two months," I said as we entered the cabin. Gene needed to pack his stuff up now that he was done here.

"Do you know where he goes to school? And how to get there?" Gene asked as he pulled his suitcase out of the room he slept in.

"Yeah, I do… Perhaps we could get him to help? We should also probably recruit the others that were on the team. That would be Ayako Matsuzaki, a miko, Takigawa Houshou, a monk, John Brown, an exorcist, Osamu Yasuhara, a kid who goes to the same school as Saikouchi and does research for us, Lin, who you already know as well as Naru, and Masako Hara, a famous medium," I said as I watched him put his stuff together.

"That sounds like quite the group, and you even had Ms. Hara. And… Naru..?" Gene said, looking up at me slightly in question.

"Oh, that's what I dubbed your brother. He has got to be the biggest narcissist I have ever known. Thus, I dubbed him Naru, as in Naru the Narcissist," I said as I leaned against a table.

"… Why didn't I think of that? That's brilliant!" Gene said with a bright smile as he packed the last of his things. "Okay, so first we go to Tokyo so you can get whatever it is you need, then we head over to Saikouchi and Mr. Yasuhara's school."

"Please, don't call him Mr. Yasuhara. It… just doesn't fit. We called him either Yasuhara or just Yasu," I said as I thought of Yasu's reaction to being called Mr. Yasuhara. "While we're there I'll show you where SPR was located."

"My brother actually got an office in Tokyo?" Gene said as he picked up his suitcase and started for the door. I started to follow before responding.

"Yeah, in Shibuya. Shibuya Psychic Research was the alias he used for it so no one would suspect anything. He also used the personal alias of Kazuya Shibuya, not that I ever recall actually calling him as such," I said.

"Figures that he would use Kazuya-it means 'Number One', correct?" Gene said as we got to a bus station.

"Yeah, I believe so. Everyone always thought Lin was Kazuya Shibuya. Then Naru would have to correct it. And the only ones with straight faces would be Lin, Naru, and sometimes Masako. Or Yasu, if he felt like pulling a prank," I said as we both waited for the bus to come by. I looked at the bus schedule-it would be here soon.

"Tell me more about how SPR worked… It sounds rather interesting," Gene said with a bit of excitement.

"Well, I guess I'll start with Ayako. She is a self-proclaimed miko, not that she didn't deserve it I guess. Her parents are doctors and so is she, but she had a huge tree in the front yard that would talk to her. Basically she talks to trees. The tree taught her all she knows. Unless she has healthy trees that have tree spirits inside her exorcisms are pretty useless, but her charms work quite well," I explained as I thought of the fiery red-head. "She's around the mid-twenties I think. Has really red hair and wore makeup a lot."

"She sounds interesting," Gene commented.

"She is, and she has a temper. But she is motherly towards the whole group. And often gets in fights with Monk," I responded. "Monk is actually Takigawa Houshou, and is, in fact, a monk from Mount Kouya. Well, actually his parents ran a temple up there, and they wanted him to become a monk, but music CDs weren't allowed on the mountain so he became a bassist instead. Being a monk is actually more of a side job. He and Ayako are always arguing over something, but it's usually along the lines of Monk calling her an old hag and a useless priestess and her calling him an apostate monk and her hitting him on the head with her purse."

Gene started laughing. "That's hilarious. Was he good at being a monk though?" Gene asked curiously with a happy expression on his face.

"Yes, he is actually rather powerful. Even Naru said that he underestimated him once," I responded.

"Wow. And the others?" Gene asked.

"Right, next is John Brown. He is only nineteen, but he looks twelve. He's from Australia, and has a weird accent. And when I say weird I mean funny. He is a Catholic exorcist. I have no idea how he is already ranked above a priest at such a young age. He is very talented though, and is like my sensible older brother," I said happily. "He's also quite innocent and such, and blushes a lot like me… although unlike me he was actually trusted not to get hurt when on a case…"

"He sounds nice," Gene responded, hitting the nail on the head.

"He is. Then there's Masako Hara. She's famous and on television a lot. She sees spirits quite well. I'm actually quite jealous of her; she's just like a doll! And she's much more powerful than I am, I'm sure. Plus the way her powers work… She can see spirits and she can sense them. She asks them their stories or something like that. Or she just knows. I, on the other hand, can barely see spirits, if at all, have dreams pertaining to the case, which are useful, but I'm forced to either watch or live through the experiences that the ghost had… So, her powers come with a lot less emotional detail. But she's jealous of me because Naru calls me by my first name, unlike Ayako or herself. She also knew about the Oliver Davis thing before the rest of us knew, and held that over his head for dates and such, but since he's so prideful he doesn't like her for it. Really she's more like a sister to me, even if she says she hates me I can't honestly say the same," I said, thinking back to all of my fights with Masako.

"You seriously worked with Masako Hara?! Wow… She's one of the best in her field… And he called you by your first name? Do tell," Gene said, a bit awestruck.

"He said it was nothing; I had started calling him Naru so he said he was just returning the favor," I shrugged.

"I see… and when did this start?" Gene said with a strange gleam in his eye.

"… It's weird seeing you like this, I've been around Naru too much I guess… But I first actually called him Naru the second day I started working for him… He forced me to work for him, ya know. That's a story for later. But we basically dropped all formalities near the beginning I guess…" I responded, trying to think when he had ever called me by my last name.

"I see… And this Yasuhara guy?" Gene asked.

"Yasu is totally the prankster of the group. He doesn't have any psychic powers, but I swear that guy's inhuman. He's really smart and often researched things for us. He once posed as Naru, but then would sneak off out of a window with Madoka to do research," I said, Man, Gene was a really curious guy about this! "I'd describe him as my older brother that always had a way to make everyone laugh. Well, unless it's Lin or Naru. I've only ever heard Lin chuckle once."

"You know Madoka?" Gene looked a bit pale, well, paler than usual. Guess she had control over this twin too. "WAIT, Lin can CHUCKLE?!"

I was the one laughing now. "Yeah, he told me he didn't like the Japanese. It's funny, I'd known him for about a year and it was the most he ever talked about me…"

"So what did you say?" Gene asked.

"Apparently, the same thing you did when he told you. I didn't know that until months later, but still. He laughed and told me that someone said the same thing before. I asked him if it was Naru, seeing as he already knew him, but he shot that down quick. Naru had said 'That's stupid'. Typical." I shrugged.

"Of course he did," Gene sighed. "And Lin and Naru?'

"EH?" I questioned. "You know Lin already, and if you don't know your own twin that you've lived with for years and have a telepathic bond with, I'd be concerned."

Gene laughed again, smiling brightly. "Well, yes, I obviously know them, but I want to know what they were like to you, in your opinion, in this… alternate… future."

"Ah," I said. He must be wondering if they changed after his death. "Well, Lin… I sort of made him get hit by a falling shoe rack in an old school building. And almost broke his foot. And broke a camera, while I was at it. He wasn't exactly happy with me… or rather, my existence. At best, he tolerated me. We figured out he was an omniyoji later on. In fact, at first we thought it was Naru that was the omniyoji. On one case, the spirit possessed me basically the whole case. Lin looked just like the spirit's father, and so… I apparently clung to him the whole time. That's all I really know about that case, I remember an exorcism of one possessed child, apparently got possessed, and then woke up in the infirmary, Lin sitting beside the bed with coffee or something.."

"You seriously clung onto Lin like he was your dad?" Gene deadpanned.

"I WAS POSSESSED! I don't even remember it!" I pouted. Gene smiled and laughed again.

"Now tell me, how was that idiot scientist I call a brother?"

"Hmm, where to start on that narcissist… Well, I told you before he sort of conned me into working for him at first. Remember what I said before about breaking the camera and, well, Lin? He used that. Somehow I ended up working at the office. We didn't even figure out that I was a latent psychic until a few cases later, which by the way, we didn't take very many cases. Back to Naru, he always was teasing my intelligence, and often had to explain things to me. Somewhere along the line, and I have no idea when, I became his personal tea maker. The whole year and a half or so that I worked for him he only smiled once. He often ended up having to save me from trouble."

"Only once? Hm…" Gene was thinking again. I had the feeling that wasn't a good sign. He turned his attention to me again after a minute. "What kind of trouble did he usually have to save you from?"

"Let's see, just the things Naru had to help me with… Well, first the floor gave out, I was fine then, mostly, and when Naru found me and tried to help me out… the ceiling gave out."

"First you break a camera and Lin, then a floor falls from underneath you, and then you drag my brother into a room where the ceiling collapses? What kind of danger magnet are you?" Gene is now laughing at me, again.

"A very dangerous one, apparently. I also ended up falling into a manhole with Naru. And he's had a staring contest with a spirit. Three times with one spirit actually." I paused. "He's either extremely brave or extremely stupid."

"I prefer both," Gene put in.

I thought for a second before answering. "Agreed," I chuckled.

"So since we've established that you are, in fact, a danger magnet, what sort of trouble did you get in? I'm sure Naru didn't save you every time, he may think he can do anything, but he's only human," Gene paused for a second. "It's not like there's two of him, or something." Gene had a wide grin.

"No, but he has a very sarcastic and cryptic twin brother. "

"Danger magnet stories, remember?"

"Right. Let's see, I actually had another shoe rack fall on me, same case where, as you put it, broke Lin using the same method. I got choked by a ghost. Then I fell down a well. It was in the middle of a living room too…"

"Stop for a second," Gene stopped me. "You couldn't find a natural well or another shoe rack, or have a floor and a ceiling collapse on you, so you end up falling down a well that was in the middle of a living room? Seriously?!"

"It was Monk and the ghost's fault! Shut it!" Oh great, he made me embarrassed and blush again. "Anyway, as you know I fell down a manhole. Soaked by a spirit in a park… Oh, we'll need to save her too… Got possessed… I got stuck in a room where some chemicals got knocked on the floor, formalin, actually, which leads us up to the ceiling incident. Got stuck in a room with some really freaky spirits from a summoning… That one was my fault. Then the Urado case…. By the way, hope you're ready to be an arson. We have to burn down a mansion. No choice."

"There was a haunting that bad?" Gene looked taken back. Suppose he hasn't dealt with a blood-soaking demon… Lucky him.

"Even Naru told the owner that it's the only thing that could be done. That… was a horrible case. We barely made it out alive. Masako and I especially," I shuddered at the memory.

"What happened?" Gene asked.

"Well, the case wasn't even actually about the haunting. It was a different agenda, about Oliver Davis. Someone was posing as him. The haunting involved, for lack of any other way to describe it, a demon which kidnapped young people using two ghost assistants and bathed in the victim's blood. Two people actually got kidnapped and died. They were from other paranormal teams that were also there. I ended up dreaming and going through a death firsthand. Masako got kidnapped, and I ended up facing the demon face-to-face. I got Masako and myself out of there thanks to Lin's shiki. With no other choice, we left, advising them to burn the place. They ended up taking our advice, it seems," I concluded.

"That's an intense case… so we'll definitely need to burn this place down. We'll have to make sure no one else is in the building.


	4. Chapter 4

**I could not write all that well at this point. I'm not editing it, but I always was interested in this story. This was inspired by Soul Eater's very own Doctor Franken Stein. Maybe one day, several years in the future, I'll pick it up again.**

**But not now. No, no, and no.**

**I can imagine you can see a theme among my writings….**

**The title is 'Not What It Seems'.**

It was scary and dark. I don't know where I am, and I don't know how I got here. It reminded me of the Urado case, in that room with that… thing… but this room had much less blood, and was more like a dungeon.

Footsteps approach, and then stop right in front of where I sat on the floor against the wall. I can't see anything in front of me. The sounds of the figure crouching down are quiet, and then I feel a pain so unbearable I scream before blacking out.

**notwhatitseems**

POV Naru

I walk into the office to see an envelope sitting neatly on Mai's desk. She must have put it there yesterday before she left. Still, I don't remember it being there the day before,

Curiosity overtakes me and I look at the envelope.

What I see makes even me surprised.

On the letter in clear handwriting is the name Oliver Davis. However, it is not that that shocks me. It's something else.

The handwriting, without a doubt, belongs to Gene.

**notwhatitseems**

POV Mai

"So, the microchip has successfully been rebooted, nothing to worry about… You're ready to leave again, just make sure to take things a bit easy for a little while," a man in a lab coat told me. I knew this man. His name is Doctor Goodman. He's the reason I'm alive.

"Okay, what do you mean by a 'little while'… I did tell you about my job, right?" I ask him.

"I don't think it'll be a problem with Mr. Davis. I had a certain… associate of his write him a letter," he responded with a smirk. I knew that smirk. It meant he was going to enjoy observing my next few days.

"You had Gene write to him, didn't you?" I knew about the whole 'Oliver Davis and Eugene Davis' business. "You know Gene's still not comfortable with the fact he's still alive, even if he was only technically dead for only a few moments."

His grin simply grew wider. "No, Gene wanted to. He said he thought it was about time," then his expression grew grim. "Plus, he found out how frantically his family and Lin are searching."

".. Well then, this will be interesting…" I groaned. The man's smile just grew wide again. Another groan.

**notwhatitseems**

I walked into my apartment later that night with a new roommate. Gene. Gene had decided he would be rooming with me until he felt like coming up to Naru. And, just so I couldn't tell Naru, he had the Doctor make it so I couldn't say a word about it using an overdrive function in a microchip.

Why do I have a microchip, you ask? Well, it's a bit of a long story, but to put it simply as possible, I have a microchip placed between my brain and my spinal cord and it is the whole entire reason I am alive.

Gene also has this microchip, but he hasn't had it nearly as long as I have. He did, in fact, die, but thanks to the microchip and a certain mad scientist (the guy from before) as well as some quick thinking, Gene is still alive. He actually will be able to get the chip removed, and is slowly going through the process of having his brain work without the help of the chip. It's going to take another year or two, and he's already been weaning for about a year.

"Are you sure-" I begin before being cut off with Gene raising his hand in a 'no worries' gesture.

"Yes, I'm sure. Are we almost there?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, Mr. Impatient, we're almost there," I responded. We walked up to my apartment building and went up to my apartment.

"So this is where you live?" Gene said as we stepped inside.

"No I just lead you to a total strangers apartment and somehow had the key to said apartment," I deadpanned.

"No need to be so harsh," Gene responded before going off to explore through my apartment (not that there was much TO explore).

I took the suitcases Gene had been carrying, but then dropped as soon as we came in, and took them to the room he'd be staying in. Since this apartment had been my former teacher's, there was another room.


End file.
